In recent years, new and emerging diseases such as West Nile, Ebola and Zika have caught national and international responders off guard. In an increasingly interconnected world, improving disease detection, surveillance and diagnostics tools is critical to preventing global pandemics.

In his Front Row lecture, Kristian Andersen discussed how he, with a global network of collaborators, applies a ‘team science’ approach to deciphering outbreaks. His highly cross-disciplinary work combines next-generation sequencing, computational biology, experimentation and field work to investigate how viruses emerge and cause large-scale outbreaks.

By diving deep into virus genomes, Andersen and colleagues aim to transform the way local, national and international officials are able to respond to outbreaks.

Presented: August 15, 2019